Nothing Lasts Forever
by Rawr-Chan
Summary: Shawn adopted Aracely because he knew she needed some guidance but its Aracely who gives others guidance. This is the story of how John Cena learned not to judge a book by it's cover & Jeff Hardy learned that a 17 year old could teach him a life lesson.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **I own diddly squat. The only thing that's mine is Aracely… and anyone else you don't recognise. I got this idea the other day when I was thinking about how you can't judge a book by its cover. Enjoy.

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><p><strong>Nothing Lasts Forever<strong>

**Chapter One**

_"So you're adopting a kid?"_

_"Well, she's not really a kid. She's actually nearly an adult. She turns 18 in about five months," Shawn told his best friend._

_"So… if she's gonna be an adult so soon, why adopt her?" Hunter asked him._

_"Rebecca and I heard her story and we felt drawn to her. So, we decided to do something about that. Now she's a part of the family, adult soon or not. She's going to be joining me on tour in a couple of days."_

_"Her story?"_

_"It's a sad one. But she seems like a good kid. I think she just needs some guidance." Shawn said thoughtfully._

_"She's not off the rails or anything?"_

_"No. No she's not but I think without some guidance she could stray off the path and I want to help her in choosing the right path. After all the bad choices I made, I think it's fitting that I help someone avoid making the same bad choices."_

_Hunter nodded a little bit and looked up as the door to the locker room opened, smiling as his wife walked in…_

~/~

The girl was sitting in the corner of the lounge, the buds of her headphones resting in her ears, when Hunter walked in. She was petite, fairly short with long blonde hair and pale white skin. Her eyes were very blue and they were rimmed with thick black eyeliner and there was a dark red gloss on her lips. She certainly looked like someone who could easily go off the right path, though Hunter reminded himself that looking a certain way didn't mean you weren't a good person.

Shawn, who had been reading stood up now and he and Hunter hugged briefly, the girl on the lounge turning off her iPod and taking the buds out of her ears so she could put it away. She stood up as Shawn turned to her and took a couple of steps forward.

"Aracely, this is my best friend, Hunter. Hunter, this is Aracely." Shawn introduced them.

"Call me Lee." She said in a slightly husky voice, as she took the hand Hunter extended.

"Nice to meet you, Lee," He said, smiling at her, relieved when she smiled back. Shawn was right, he thought, she was a good kid but some guidance in her life wouldn't hurt.

"Nice to meet you too, Hunter."

"So, you ready to go get some food and meet some others?" Shawn asked, putting an arm around the girl's shoulders. She tensed slightly but she nodded a little as she glanced up at Shawn.

"I guess so."

Hunter opened the door and watched as Lee and Shawn walked out, his arm still around her shoulders. He was glad she seemed comfortable with his friend, settling in with him fine. He wasn't sure what he had expected really but it wasn't this. The kid looked a little rebellious, unsettled but she did seem to have her head screwed on straight so far. Maybe Shawn was intervening before anything had happened to upset her.

It didn't take them long to arrive at catering and they all walked in, Shawn leading them over to a group of men sitting at a large table.

"Guys," he said, that one word getting everyone's attention. "This is Aracely, though you can call her Lee. Rebecca and I have just adopted her." His voice held a firmness as well as some affection, making it clear that the girl was his daughter and no one was allowed to mess with her. "Lee, this is John Cena, Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, Cody Runnels, Chris Jericho, Adam Copeland, Jay Reso, Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy."

If she recognised any of them, she gave no obvious sign though her soft, "Hi," was a little awkward. It wasn't surprising though, considering it was a large group of people she was meeting.

All nine of them looked her over, not in a perverted sense, just taking in who she was. She was wearing black jean shorts that went to her mid-thigh, a loose black Motorhead tee with no sleeves and black converse. She also had a stack of black jelly bracelets on each wrist. They offered their various hellos and she managed a smile.

"Take a seat honey, I'll grab you some food." Shawn told her, and he and Hunter went to grab some food for the three of them. She chose to sit by Jeff, not John as the conversations around the table resumed.

Jeff however, looked at her, "Aracely? Nice name." He said with a smile. She enjoyed the way his Southern accent just flowed. It sent warmth through the girl.

"Thanks. I prefer Lee though." She told him with a bit of a shrug.

"It's okay," He said, "I prefer Jeff or Jeffro to Jeffrey." It made her smile a little bit and immediately she felt comfortable with him.

"Nice hair." She commented, reaching out without thinking to lightly touch Jeff's hair which was bright red at that moment. He chuckled softly and let her touch it without objection.

"I could say the same to you, it's nearly white. Is that natural?" He asked.

"Pretty much. My hair is a little darker naturally but not much. I use that lightening shampoo on it every so often." She told him. "I've experimented with colour too but I think I look better with my hair like this. You pull off the bright red pretty well though."

Jeff liked the way she smiled as she spoke to him, "Why thank you. So, Motorhead huh? You'll get along well with Hunter then."

"Yeah, I love Motorhead. But I like loads of different music. If I like it, I listen to it, whatever it is." She shrugged a little.

Shawn was soon back though, putting down a plate in front of Lee and she thanked him before tucking in. Despite her petite form, she did seem to be very happy to eat. Shawn sat beside her and started on his own food, Hunter next to him. They merged into the group conversation easily, although Jeff and Aracely kept talking between themselves. He was glad she'd found someone she could talk to easily, though the fact it was Jeff did make him slightly uneasy. Still, he trusted Jeff with her.

Someone else who was studying the way she interacted with Jeff was John Cena. He felt drawn to her and he really couldn't explain it. He even felt worried about her- she was so petite, though he could clearly see that she was eating now. Her grungy appearance also unsettled him- he wondered what kind of trouble she had gotten herself into before Shawn adopted her. But things would change now. He was sure that he could help Shawn transform her into the beautiful young women he knew was hiding under all that makeup.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Alright, so I suppose technically this is set a couple of years ago lol. I don't know 100% where I'm going with this story but I know the general idea of it all. It's not supposed to be about pairings either. All it is, is the story of Shawn adopting a young woman who needs a family and parents in her life to help her. It's the story of a girl who people find hard to understand, especially John Cena, though he genuinely does want to help her. The story of a young woman whom Jeff Hardy can see right through and understands, and who Shawn learns to understand. And finally, the story of a 17 year old who actually teaches Jeff a life lesson. So this is chapter one, and we'll see where it goes from here. (Also, I wish these stories had the options for three characters lol)


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's ****Note:** I own diddly squat. The only thing that's mine is Aracely… and anyone else you don't recognise. I got this idea the other day when I was thinking about how you can't judge a book by its cover. Enjoy.

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><p><strong>Nothing Lasts Forever<strong>

**Chapter Two**

Aracely Michaels (she was still getting used to that) was laying on her back in the ring, staring up at the ceiling while lost in thought. Everything was silent, since they'd arrived so damn early and since she wasn't involved in the meeting she'd decided to venture out here.

"Hey kiddo."

Jeff's soft Southern drawl startled her a little and she'd rolled onto her side, putting a hand to her chest as she realised who it was. "Jeff." She said simply as he chuckled at her, sitting while she watched him slide into the ring. Today she had a similar outfit on, same shorts, same converse and a Ramones tee that she'd cut the sleeves off. She also had the same jelly bracelets and makeup on.

"What're you up to?" He asked her, sitting beside her and glancing up at the ceiling. She laughed softly and lay back down against the canvas, shrugging as she did.

"Dunno. Thinking I guess."

"What about?" Jeff asked, looking down at her and causing her eyes to turn to him.

"Not much really." She laughed, "I was letting my mind wander, I wasn't really focusing on anything. I need to get a new sketchbook though, I always draw some really good stuff when I let my mind wander,"

"Ahhh so you are an artist." Jeff said, "I thought you might be."

She nodded, "Shawn mentioned that you're a good artist when he saw some of my art…" Then after a moment of silence, "What are you doing out here, shouldn't you be in the meeting?"

"Meeting's over honey. I guess I just had a feeling you'd be out here."

Lee looked at him curiously, a little surprised that this man she hardly knew seemed to share so much in common with her and understand her already. Jeff just smiled at her and lay back on the canvas too, staring up at the ceiling. They lay there together for a while in a very comfortable silence, almost communicating through it.

"What on earth are you two doing?" Came Hunter's voice a little later. Neither Lee or Jeff knew how long it had been since they lay down together but they both sat up in time together and looked at Hunter. Then they looked at each other and back to Hunter before laughing.

"Thinking," they said in unison, watching as the man shook his head a little.

"Well come on, you need to get backstage now, before things start up out here." He said and Jeff rolled out of the ring easily before giving Aracely a hand out.

Both of them followed Hunter backstage, going their separate ways as Jeff said he needed to go and find his brother.

"So what were you guys doing?" Hunter asked now, enjoying the soft giggle that escaped Lee.

"Thinking." She repeated, smiling at him. "Just… letting our minds wander. Thinking in drawings and photos."

"You art types." Hunter teased, fluffing her hair and then opening the door to Shawn's locker room for her. She walked in, realising that Shawn wasn't alone in there, as both his and Cena's heads turned towards the door at her entrance.

"Found her. She was with Hardy in the ring, thinking, was it?" Hunter teased her and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes Hunter, thinking, a novel concept for you." She responded and he gave her a fake insulted look, and then sent a nod towards Shawn.

"I'll see you later man." And with that he left.

"I won't interrupt you two." Lee said, pulling out her iPod and putting the little headphone buds in her ears before taking a seat on the couch.

John had watched this whole exchange with analytical eyes. Hearing that she had been alone in the ring with Hardy worried him a little. It wasn't that he didn't like Jeff- the man wasn't a bad person but he didn't feel like he was a stable enough role model for someone like Aracely.

He also failed to see the joking tone in her exchange with Hunter, taking it as an insult toward the man instead. He was a little shocked but he supposed it was a natural defence mechanism. Obviously something had happened to this girl and he wanted to help fix it.

She just seemed so dark in comparison to the teenage girls he was used to. The clean cut preppy types were really all he had ever known and he was sure that there was a pretty young woman underneath the thick black eyeliner and blood red lipstick. In fact, he even suspected that maybe she suffered from depression and he wouldn't have blamed her. Obviously something had happened to her parents if she had been adopted by Shawn and the man himself had said that her past had been a sad one.

What Cena just couldn't see was that she was just different. That's not to say there wasn't anything that had gone wrong in her life, that there wasn't anything that made her sad sometimes… but she wasn't wearing her makeup as a mask. It was just part of who she was. She liked it. But he was certainly going to learn a big lesson.

There was a knock on the door and both Shawn and John looked up again as it opened. In the doorway stood Jeff with a bit of a smile, "I have something for Lee, thought she might like it."

Shawn nudged her, since she was sitting with her eyes shut. She opened them and smiled the moment she saw Jeff, turning her iPod off and getting up. "Hey Jeffro," she greeted him.

The man made his way into the room, clearly holding something behind his back. She watched him, waiting for him to reveal what it was. When he was a little closer he brought out a sketchbook from behind his back and her grin grew. "I had a spare one laying around and thought you might want it. I also brought some pencils and an eraser with me just in case you needed those too."

"Thanks Jeffy!" She responded brightly, wrapping him up in a hug and enjoying the way his chest vibrated with a chuckle. Lee accepted the sketchbook and the other art equipment from him happily and he kissed the top of her head.

"You're welcome honey. I can't stay though, I promised Matt I'd be quick." He said, rolling his eyes at her and making her smile again.

"I'll talk to you later…" She said and he nodded before saying his goodbyes.

Aracely sat down again, getting comfortable on the couch and flipping the sketchbook open right away so that she could get started, not paying attention to the look from both Shawn and Cena. Shawn was smiling a little, glad that she got along with Jeff so well and was quite happy with her new life. Cena however, felt a little more concerned about her immediate closeness with Jeff.

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><p><strong>Author<strong>**'****s ****Note: **Okay so it's past 4am here and if this makes no sense, I apologise. Feel free to tell me so. I just couldn't sleep so I had to write this down lol. Anyway, I think the pace will change a little soon, and there'll be some more interaction between Lee and Cena. Also, just so you know, Aracely is pronounced like Arachelly ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** I own diddly squat. The only thing that's mine is Aracely… and anyone else you don't recognise. I got this idea the other day when I was thinking about how you can't judge a book by its cover. Enjoy.

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><p><strong>Nothing Lasts Forever<strong>

**Chapter Three**

Aracely was laying on her back on the bed, dangling upside down from it and grinning as she watched Jeff paint. Today was a cooler day so she was wearing jeans along with her usual tee with the sleeves cut off, and she'd borrowed a hoodie from Jeff that she was absolutely swimming in now.

"How on earth is that comfortable?" Jeff asked, enjoying the giggle that it prompted from Lee.

"I dunno, I just felt like laying here and hanging upside down." She shrugged a bit and Jeff couldn't help but laugh too. He paused in his painting when she struggled to roll over and then clambered off the bed, padding over to where he stood at the canvas.

"It looks good Jeffy. I really like it," she told him, missing the smile that her announcement prompted.

"Well that's good, you're my inspiration." He told her and a blush spread over her cheeks.

"Really?"

"Yes, really Lee." He said, smirking a bit and reaching out to paint a red stripe on her right cheek. She didn't even fight him on it but her cheeky grin in response reassured him that she had something in store for him. Despite this, he painted a matching stripe on her other cheek.

Lee reached out and deftly swiped up some paint on one of her fingers and like lightning she streaked a line of her own down his nose. Together they burst out in laughter and Jeff put aside his palette.

"Alright Lee, it's your turn to show me some of your work." He said, and a thoughtful expression came over her face in response. She bounced over to the bag she had brought with her and took out the sketchbook and the pencils Jeff gave her before moving to the bed. Jeff sat with her, though she lay down beside him and opened her sketchbook.

It didn't take long for her work to start taking form and Jeff leaned in a little, looking it over. "I like it." He told her softly and even though he couldn't see her face he could practically feel her grin.

"Well that's good, cause it's inspired by you," She told him.

Neither of them seemed remotely bothered when Matt opened the door and headed in. There was a vague greeting for him but Lee continued to draw and Jeff continued to watch, completely ensnared by her talent. For a moment, Matt paused and looked at them both, frowning a little. It's not that he thought she was a bad kid but he did wonder if she was the right person to be hanging around Jeff. He worried that she might get Jeff in trouble, if only for her age. After all, it had only been about a week at this point and they seemed so close. Closer than anybody else she had been introduced to… but Matt left it. He just had to trust his brother.

Later that evening, she and Jeff went down to dinner together, joining Shawn, Hunter, Randy, Adam and John. They walked side by side, close together and chatting away as they got closer with Lee positively beaming. They took a seat at the table, casually greeting everyone before Lee asked what John felt was a huge question.

"Shawn, do you mind if I stay in Jeff's room tonight? We haven't finished our art yet."

Shawn glanced from her to Jeff, then to Hunter and finally nodded. "G'head. Don't stay up too late though, and remember you have to find John tomorrow morning to go to the next town with him. I'll meet you there."

"No worries." She said, smiling at him before turning her attention to the menu.

Cena listened to all this silently, though he felt a little surprised that Shawn would say yes to her request. Not that he thought Jeff would do anything to hurt her but was it honestly okay to let her stay with someone who had that much of an age gap with her? Then again, he would be spending the better part of his day alone with her tomorrow. Maybe then he could talk to her, try and get through to her and find out what was going on underneath that mask she wore both physically and emotionally.

When dinner was done Lee and Jeff said their goodbyes, Lee offering Shawn a hug before heading off to Jeff's room with him. Again they walked side by side, shoulders nearly touching as they chatted.

"They get along well." Cena remarked, trying not to sound like he was stirring anything up.

"They have a lot in common, I guess." Shawn said, "They're both artists." He shrugged. He never was an artist himself, except for in the ring.

John just nodded and let the conversation swap to something else, even though he was lost in thought himself.

Meanwhile, back in Jeff's room, he and Lee were sitting on the bed again, both of them working on a sketch. Despite the fact there was a movie on in the background they were both talking to one another softly.

"Lee… I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened to your parents?"

"I don't mind." She said simply, "They're dead. They have been for a while now… nearly 10 years." She could see the confusion on his face as he said this.

"But… if they've been dead for that long, how come you've only just been adopted by Shawn?" He asked in a gentle tone of voice. She knew he wasn't accusing her of anything, just curious and probably a bit confused.

"I was with a couple of foster families… then Shawn came along and I don't know how he heard about me, but I'm here now." She said, without going too far into detail about her life. Jeff didn't press her for details either… but he was sure she would tell him more soon.

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><p><strong>Author<strong>**'****s ****note: **So here's chapter three! Hope you enjoyed it. I'm also gonna put up some new story images up on my profile if you wanna check them out. What are you expecting next chapter? :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** I own diddly squat. The only thing that's mine is Aracely… and anyone else you don't recognise. I got this idea the other day when I was thinking about how you can't judge a book by its cover. Enjoy.

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><p><strong>Nothing Lasts Forever<strong>

**Chapter Four**

Lee groaned when Jeff lightly shook her shoulder, "Really? I gotta get up now?" She asked. Jeff chuckled softly before he replied.

"Yeah honey, you gotta get up now. John likes to get up early. He called me and said he'd be here in half an hour."

"Half an hour?" That seemed to wake her up and she scrambled off the makeshift bed she'd insisted on making on the couch to go and shower. John was at the door before she'd left the bathroom and Jeff could only shrug apologetically and offer him some coffee.

Before John could answer though, she appeared. Her hair was damp and looking longer than ever but her makeup was on as usual and she wore another pair of shorts, some boots and an HBK shirt that she'd modified to suit her needs. "Sorry I'm running a little late Cena, didn't realise you wanted to go so damn early." She said, though there wasn't any anger or bitterness in her tone, walking over to her things and making sure they were all together.

"Don't worry about it. I forgot to tell you what time I'd be coming to get you." He said, kindness in his voice. It irritated her a little, like he thought he had to be nice to her because she was adopted or something. Or maybe it had to do with Shawn Michaels being her father. She didn't really know.

"Well, I'm good now." She told him, lifting her bag onto her shoulder.

"Right, well we'll get breakfast on the road. Thanks Jeff, see you." He said politely and turned slightly to leave, watching from the corner of his eye as Aracely gave Jeff a big hug and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks for having me Jeffy, I look forward to many more art nights with you." She couldn't contain a grin and it only grew when Jeff kissed the top of her head.

"Me too. See you Lee. Bye Cena."

With that, Lee followed John out the door, listening to it click shut behind them. She could feel the man's eyes on her as they waited for the elevator. It could have been a little unnerving but she was used to people staring at her. She was different and she knew it, and that often intimidated people. Especially people who seemed as clean cut as Cena.

She got into his car, wondering to herself why she couldn't have just travelled with Jeff. At least they were comfortable with each other- but she supposed that Shawn trusted Cena and wanted her to get to know different people. If she was travelling with him she should have a support network. The sceptical part of her wondered why she couldn't just have Jeff as her support system and leave it at that. After all, she was 17- she would be 18 in under a year and why on earth would Shawn want to keep her around after that?

Her musings were interrupted by Cena clearing his throat. "You hear anything I just said?"

"Sorry Cena, still half asleep. What was it?"

"I asked what you wanted for breakfast." He said, wondering why she insisted on calling him Cena all the time. It felt so impersonal. He wondered if she was trying to distance herself from him, realising it would be hard to break through the walls he thought he could see her putting up.

Although he was wrong about the reason, she did have some walls up. Nonetheless, she answered him, "Oh, whatever you want is fine. I'm not really a fussy eater."

"I figured I'd stop for McDonalds. I try not to eat it too often but you can indulge every once in a while, right?"

She just shrugged. "Sure." Then went back to looking out the window. She felt too awkward to start a conversation with Cena- what the hell was she supposed to say to him? With Jeff everything came easily, talk about art… anything really. Jeff was easy to speak to. Cena she didn't understand.

After a while, once their McDonalds had been both ordered and eaten, he spoke to her. "So… If you don't mind me asking… what happened to your parents?"

She glanced over at him now, once upon a time she would have minded him asking- and it prickled a little more with her that he asked than it had when Jeff asked- but it had been so long now… it was just a fact of her life. She shrugged, indicating she didn't really care that he asked, "They're dead. Have been for nearly ten years now."

"So… you were just in the foster care system since then?"

"I guess." She answered, a little more guarded. She certainly wasn't going to give him any insight into her life before now, other than the fact that her parents were dead and that's how Shawn came to adopt her.

"You know… sometimes it helps to talk. Might make you feel better." Cena offered. She couldn't help a soft snort.

"No offence or anything Cena, but I barely know you. Why would I share things yet? Besides, I feel fine. It's been a long time, I've adjusted. I'm okay." She told him. He said nothing for a little while, but she could tell that he didn't believe her.

"Well… If you change your mind, I'm here anytime." His voice still held that irritating kind tone to it, and she knew that he thought of her like some kind of project, something he needed to fix.

"I'm tired." She responded. "Wake me up when we get there?" And without waiting for his response she awkwardly curled up in the seat and rested her head on the window. She wasn't really that tired but she would legitimately try to sleep. Anything was better than making awkward conversation with Cena, and worse yet, being judged by him. He just didn't understand, she'd done her dealing with it. Nothing about her was a façade, it just was who she was.

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><p><strong>Author's note: <strong>Sorry it's been a while. Life has been up and down lately. Very up and down. Anyway, this is the newest instalment, kind of fillerish but don't worry, we'll get there, to the more uh… meaty stuff lol. If I've made any hugely obvious errors, let me know and I'll fix it. I'm writing this late at night lol.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** I own diddly squat. The only thing that's mine is Aracely… and anyone else you don't recognise. I got this idea the other day when I was thinking about how you can't judge a book by its cover. Enjoy.

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><p><strong>Nothing Lasts Forever<strong>

**Chapter Five**

"Lee?" She heard, somewhere off in the distance it seemed, but struggled to climb out of the sleep she was currently in. The moment she felt hands on her she jerked awake though, and tumbled out of the arms she'd been in and landed on the ground with a grunt.

"Shit! Are you okay Lee?" A voice she now recognised as Cena's asked. She fought the urge to rub her eyes and smear her makeup, and nodded a little, slowly straightening out her legs and getting up from the floor.

"Yeah I'm good, you just surprised me is all." She said. She still had some issues, though she certainly wasn't affected in the way Cena seemed to think. She noticed the sympathetic look on his face and finally scowled a little at him, "Don't look at me like that, I'm just a light sleeper in that aspect." She told him, grabbing her bag.

She heard the man sigh and then shut and lock the door, "Well come on then. We're at the hotel. Shawn isn't here though, and I don't have key or anything so you're coming to my room."

_'Joy'_ She thought to herself, but she simply nodded and followed him into the hotel, thankful that there didn't currently seem to be any fans swarming around. It was a simple process today, to get the room key and head up. She noticed there were two beds and walked over to one, dropping her bag onto it before flopping down and staring up at the roof, wishing she could have just stayed with Jeff.

"You sure there isn't another reason you were so jumpy when I touched you earlier?"

Aracely had to fight back a groan when Cena's voice interrupted her thoughts. For once, he was actually right, there was a little more to it than her just being a light sleeper but she was hardly going to tell him that.

"Yes Cena, I'm sure."

"Why do you always call me Cena? You can call me John, you know."

"I know. I just prefer Cena…" She said, shrugging a little and looking over at him reluctantly. He was watching her with a small, thoughtful frown on his face.

"You don't have to put up those walls you know. I'm not going to judge you, whatever has happened."

"I'm a light sleeper Cena, that's all it is." She told him, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. He just kept watching her, observing her makeup and clothes as she lazed on the bed. His gaze wasn't perverted, but it did make her feel uncomfortable- like despite the fact he had said that he would not judge her, he most certainly was.

"There's a pretty girl underneath that mask of eyeliner and lipstick you wear Aracely." He said softly and she couldn't help the way her jaw twitched.

"I'm sorry you find my makeup unattractive Cena, but believe it or not, I'm wearing this cause I like it. It's not to hide anything and I look just fine with it in my opinion." Her voice had gotten a little colder and she grabbed her bag, fishing out her ipod and stuffing the buds in her ears immediately so she wouldn't have to listen to anymore of Cena's misguided worries.

She also pulled out her sketchbook. In the back of her mind she was aware of the fact that he was still watching her and he probably still had that stupid soppy looking frown on his face but she honestly didn't care. Whatever he thought was going on with her, he was far from right. She wasn't depressed, she wasn't hiding from the world, she wasn't on drugs and she was perfectly happy with who she was.

There were little things that she still had concerns and insecurities about, but on the whole she was actually doing quite well. He just couldn't seem to see that because she was different.

_'When the hell is Jeff getting here?' _She wondered to herself, fishing out her phone and continuing to ignore John, who appeared to be on his own phone now.

_Jeffy, when are you getting here? God help me if it isn't soon._ She sent Jeff in a text, imagining him laughing on the other end when he received it.

_I should be at the hotel in about half an hour sweets. I'll let you know my room number then and we can art._ Was his response, but she could just tell he was smiling as he sent it, just as he probably knew she was about to tear her hair out.

It amazed her- she'd never met anyone who understood her instantly like that before, nor someone she understood the way that she did Jeff. The two were intrinsically linked.

_Thank god. I can't wait._

And with that she went back to her sketch, phone lying beside her on the bed. When it buzzed later with Jeff's room number she was up instantly, turning her ipod off and shoving it hurriedly into her bag. She was a little more careful with the sketchbook, then ramming her phone into her pocket.

"What are you doing?" Cena asked, sounding confused and she grimaced, forcing her face to straighten out before she turned to look at him.

"Oh uh, I asked Jeff to tell me when he got here. Want to work on some art with him. Shawn already said he didn't mind if we hung out again."

John just stared at her for a moment, not really sure what to say and she hated the look on his face. She didn't roll her eyes though, since it wouldn't help her cause. "Okay…" He said reluctantly, "Well… I'll see you later." He thought he should take it easy with her. Eventually she would open up.

The moment she was out the door, backpack secure on her shoulder, she rolled her eyes. After that she felt a little better and went hunting for Jeff's room, intensely relieved to see his face behind it when the door swung open. He laughed just at the look on her face and welcomed her in, letting the door click shut behind them both.

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><p><span>Author's note: <span>So, I'm kinda on a roll tonight, and here's a chapter for this too! I honestly don't remember the EXACT plan I had for this anymore, but I still have a basic idea of what I was doing, so here we go! I hope you enjoyed the chapter :) Maybe if you're really lucky I'll update again soon lol.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** I own diddly squat. The only thing that's mine is Aracely… and anyone else you don't recognise. I got this idea the other day when I was thinking about how you can't judge a book by its cover. Enjoy.

* * *

><p><strong>Nothing Lasts Forever<strong>

**Chapter Six**

"Jeffy…" Lee said softly, later on in the day. Both she and Jeff were on the bed and she was curled up by his side as they watched a movie, their art strewn on the bed in front of them from their earlier attempts.

"Yeah Lee?" He asked, looking down at her and wondering what was wrong.

"Remember… you asked about my parents last time?" She murmured, turning into him a little more and tuning out the movie.

"Yes." He said softly, though he let her guide the conversation, tell him whatever she felt she wanted to at that time.

"And I said that… they died a long time and I've been in foster care since…"

"Mmhm," He responded, just waiting patiently for her to get out what she needed to.

"I… I wanna tell you about it." She murmured, "I trust you and… I want someone other than Shawn to know about it all."

"Sure honey… I'll listen." He said softly, gently pushing some of her hair behind her ear. "Whatever you want to tell me, I'm here for you." He knew, unlike Cena, that she had her head screwed on straight, but that didn't mean she wouldn't want to talk about her past.

She reached out for the frayed edge of Jeff's shirt, taking it between her fingers and lightly fiddling with it, "Well… they died when I was eight. Nearly ten years ago now. It was a car accident… They were on their way to pick me up from school." She sighed softly, "I still remember the principal coming out of the school and taking me back inside to give me the news. It was awful."

"I can imagine." Jeff said softly, "I lost my mother when I was young… but I can only imagine what it must have been like to lose both your parents."

Lee managed a small smile for him before continuing, "It didn't take long for me to be placed with a foster family. It took a while, but I started to get over the loss. I'll never forget them, you know, it just… got easier. I liked it there in the beginning. I had an older foster brother there. I thought he was pretty cool but I didn't much like his friends… I was about 13 when it happened. They were 16. It was my foster brother's birthday, and there was the party going on downstairs, lots of music and noise. I'd hung out for a while but then I wanted to paint so I left the party. One of his friends followed me upstairs…"

She let the words hang in the air and she could tell by the sudden anger in Jeff's eyes that he knew the conclusion to that part of the story. "Your foster brother's friend… raped you?" He asked softly, and with a sigh, she nodded.

"Yeah. He did. Still makes me jumpy sometimes." She murmured, "Though not with you…" She managed an affectionate smile for Jeff, and he hugged her close.

"That's not the end though, is it?" He asked, and she shook her head, hardly surprised he could tell she had not finished telling her tale.

"No… After that I made some stupid choices. I just wanted to forget, you know? But I just made things worse. I made friends with the wrong people… started drinking, smoking… dabbled in drugs… I even self harmed." She said softly, "I thought at the time that it would make it all go away. I guess for a little while it did, but everything would always come rushing back the next day, and every time I had to face it again it hurt worse. Plus my foster parents were upset with what I was doing. Not that I can blame them, I had a younger foster brother too and I wasn't exactly setting a good example for him. It took a while for me to come round. They tried to help. Unfortunately by the time I finally did realise I had to change… they'd given up and I got moved to a new home."

For a few moments she paused, letting this sink in. Jeff said nothing, just watched her quietly, concern but no judgement on his face. Then she continued, "It was hard, you know, trying to get out of the bad place I'd spiralled into while adjusting to new settings… but maybe it was what I needed. It got me away from the people I'd started hanging out with and soon enough I was clean… harm free, sober. I thought I had things good… but then… well I realised the family weren't looking for a 'permanent' child. They started talking about how I'd be leaving when I was 18. Like the moment you turn 18 you magically know how to take care of yourself… especially after being in my situation…"

Lee shook her head and sighed, "That's where Shawn and Rebecca came in. I don't really know how they heard about me, though they seem to know everything… or most of it anyway… and they offered to take me in one day. I liked them right away… Rebecca is really nice… So is Shawn… and he kind of gets me, I guess. I met their kids too… sweet kids… they seemed happy and they accepted me… So… here I am."

As much as she felt like she could share everything with Jeff, she didn't confide in him her fears that when she turned 18, Shawn would want to make her leave too. She'd never had real stability in her life and the fear was that why would the man keep her around when she was an adult? It was the only real thing stopping her from calling the man 'Dad'. The fear that in a few months time, he wouldn't be around anymore. She desperately didn't want that to happen either, since the more time she spent around him, and with Jeff… the more she wanted to stay.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note: <span>Because for some reason I'm on a great roll tonight, HAVE ANOTHER CHAPTER. Take what you can get guys xD. So what do you think?  
>She really has done the stuff Cena thinks she's into… only she's already over it. Now… now she just is who she is and she's happy, aside from her fear that she won't get to stick around.<p> 


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